German Published Patent Application No. 10 2006 047 608 describes a device and a method for starting an internal combustion engine, in which a pinion starter starts the internal combustion engine. The pinion starter includes a DC motor having a pinion, which is brought into engagement with a ring gear of the internal combustion engine and, in response to a startup request, cranks the internal combustion engine. The ring gear of the internal combustion engine is usually situated at the crankshaft. Moreover, conventional pinion starters include a so-called solenoid switch, which pulls up an engaging lever that engages the pinion in the ring gear of the internal combustion engine. As soon as the engagement relay has pulled up, a main current path, which supplies the starter with electric power, is automatically closed. This starts the actual cranking process.
Prior to the pinion engaging with the ring gear, conventional engine control systems check whether the internal combustion is at a standstill. This effectively reduces negative effects to be expected with respect to the service life of the mechanical subsystem as a result of, for example, thermal and/or mechanical loading of the mechanical subsystems.
In the case of current engine control systems, the standstill of the internal combustion engine is determined in that, following a run-down of the engine, for instance, an incremental encoder detects no sweeping gear tooth for a longer period of time, typically 200 ms. This dead time between detecting the standstill of the internal combustion engine and the earliest moment of the renewed startup is too long for comfortable start-stop systems or for direct start systems.